A blog about all of the things I love - Jesus, my Family and Triathlon.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Lincoln Marathon 2014 Race Report

What a beautiful day for a race! David and I upped the ante this year and went out for a little bike ride before the start of the race. I was a little nervous about how that would go off (having to make it to the start line at a certain time) but it was just fine.

The Night Before

We are fairly accustomed to preparing for brick workouts the night before, so this was old hat. We got out bikes ready, the bottles of Perpetuem and Cytomax made, the clothes all laid out and the alarm set.

The Bike

The alarm went off at 4:00am, as our goal was to leave at 4:45 and ride for two hours. The mileage wasn't as important as the time spent riding -- but I figured we would make about 30 miles in two hours. I ate my usual half a peanut butter sandwich and cup of coffee and we were on the bikes right on time.

With a two hour bike ride and a two and a half hour run to do, it was important to "front load" our nutrition on the bike. I had approximately 700 calories to consume while riding. I didn't finish the bottle of Cytomax and ended up with about 600 that actually went in. The ride was uneventful until we stopped about an hour and twenty minutes in for a bathroom break. David's back tire was loosing air and fast. We were 5 miles from home. He filled it with a CO2 cartridge and we decided to just make it home.

Mission accomplished - 24 miles on the bike.

The Transition

Arriving home, we took advantage of the opportunity to entirely change clothes. In a triathlon, we would have not had such luxury -- but hey, we do what we want. I used the bathroom, changed clothes and stuffed a few gels in my top and we were off. David re-aired his back tire and we rode a mile to the start line.

The Run

The race officially started at 7:00am. But with 12,500 participants and a wave start, we were in good shape arriving a little after 7:00. We had time to use the bathroom (yes, again) and jumped in with the 10:30 pace group that started about 7:25.

This race is a lot of fun and there is a crazy amount of spectators. There are bands playing and people cheering the whole way. I didn't bring any water with me because the water stations are about 3 miles apart. I had done a good job of eating on the bike and consumed one gel and a glass of water at miles 3, 7 and 10. This system worked well and I felt a steady amount of energy through the whole run. Six hundred calories on the bike plus 300 on the run = 900 was a good number for 4+ hours of work.

My feet started to hurt those last couple of miles. Incidentally, those last ones are mostly up hill -- and my Newtons are getting a little worn. I had a lovely blister to show for it all on one of my right toes. A little chafing where my heart rate monitor was, but nothing earth shattering.

Post Race

David had to air up his back tire before we rode the mile home. We felt tired but not annihilated. I had a wonderful cold water bath for my legs and feet followed by one of the best feeling showers of all time! Nutrition wasn't really paid much mind yesterday. I traditionally have a "burrito as big as my head" on Marathon Sunday. No deviation from that plan this year!

Being parents, we still have to come home and well...be parents. After lunch we cleaned the house, took Liam to a function, potted some flowers and cooked dinner. It was a very long day. By 7:00pm I was so tired that I just hurt all over. We were able to get the kids all in bed by 8:30 and crashed hard.

Interesting Tidbits

The race was on May the Fourth -- which is Star Wars day. We ran with Chewbacca and Darth was on the side lines. Boba Fett was also running and there were lots of signs wish "May the Fourth be with you!"

Some of my favorite signs were the "Go Random Stranger", "Smile if You Peed a Little", and all the cute signs that the kids make. I love the kid high fives, sooo cute!

This year's Lincoln Marathon was FUN. David and I ran the half together and had a blast. In that last mile I couldn't help but think that last year I cried the entire last mile. Having waited with my full marathon pace group to start and being set behind by a lengthy porta potty delay, I missed the cuttoff time by a few minutes last year. If you didn't read that report you can HERE.

All said, we are ready for our 70.3 Triathlon on June 7th. This was the last of the brick workouts. We plan to ride the full bike course next weekend and take a two week taper. Mostly, I'm glad we are doing it together! I thanked the kids for being a part of our team. Without them being so good, we wouldn't be able to do what we do.